From the depths of despair to the heights of elation, supporting Arsenal over the past few months has been anything but dull. A club that has gone from the verge of mass rebellion to a state of ease playing the sort of football that has left much of Europe’s best in their wake.

The Premier League club are oozing with confidence and playing the football to match. Fans have already readied themselves for a domestic and European push as they look to dust out the trophy cabinet ready for a year of silverware.

For me though this degree of early optimism is a little bit unfounded.
Arsenal may well have made an incredible start to the season, but have they really done anything to change the things that fans were so quick to criticise over the summer? Results are often the perfect tonic for criticism, but in my opinion the structural deficiencies that have dogged the gunners in recent years still exist.

Too many were caught up in the clamour of the Ozil capture to realise that they had still been largely sold short by their club. Pundits and fans suggesting Arsenal were a club more than a couple of players short and whose challenge could collapse on the back of their wafer thin squad.

It was refreshing to see the likes of Serge Gnabry play so well at the weekend, but Arsenal are kidding themselves if they think players like this will suffice when the season begins to unfold properly. It is unfortunate that the likes of Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Podolski are all out, but many of the other top teams have the ready-made replacements that Arsenal simply cannot count upon.

I’m sure many will be quick to dismiss me as a misguided Arsenal basher or something of the like, but I think many will agree it is all to easy to get caught up in the hype that currently exists around the club. A reality check is needed.

Arsenal will not win the League or Champions League this term, squad for squad they are massively inferior to many of their rivals. What Wenger has done so far is instilled the belief in the quality that they do possess and helped them play to the peak of their abilities. The likes of Chelsea and City are clearly playing well below their potential and this is a testament to the stability of Arsenal and the faith they have rightly afforded Wenger.

Regardless of the results and performances Arsenal still need major changes come January. A defensive overhaul is a priority despite their excellent record last term, and I cannot help but feel more forward competition for Giroud wouldn’t go amiss. Wenger has done well to paper over cracks, but a gaffer-taped job won’t win the titles that fans so desperately yearn for.

Title challenges are often decided when things start to go wrong. Arsenal’s incredible form simply won’t last forever and it is how they deal with adversity and disappointment that will largely decide their fate. Optimism can evaporate quickly, Arsenal fans will be well aware of this.

Wenger actually went a long way to echo this message, asked by the Independent whether his team believe they can win the title, Wenger said:
“How much? You believe don’t believe 50 or 70 per cent, you believe 100 per cent of you don’t believe [at all]. That is much we believe [it is a prospect]. Our job the most important is to have a good balance between ambition and humility. Ambition because we want to win but humility as well, we have only played six games and to talk today about the title is absolutely ridiculous.”

Wenger isn’t kidding himself and neither should Arsenal fans, this is nothing more than a very good start. The hard work is still ahead for the North Londoners and fans would be advised to press their club again for the wholesale changes in January that I believe they require to reach their lofty ambitions.

Don’t get me wrong Arsenal could do very well this season; the way they have played isn’t a fluke. However, with any surge in form this early on it is always important to stay grounded and for a few Arsenal fans a reality check is definitely in order.

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I wonder what were you smoking when you wrote this article, 'cause I want a piece of it when I need to leave the realms of reality. You sound like a guy who would just say the most ridiculous thing just to get noticed. About your pathetic attempt to deliver a reality check to Arsenal fans, football is a lot more about chemistry between the players on the pitch rather than the individual prowess they posses. I don't deny quality does come in handy when coupled with good understanding among the players like barca or Munich but otherwise you are stuck with a lot of big names without any sort of cohesion and fluidity to the game like Madrid and city. The current Arsenal squad is a very good mixture of youth, experience understanding and quality. As far your wafer thin squad argument is considered Arsenal has two world class players in every position one of whom would walk into any team in Europe barring one or two very top clubs. Arsenals defence is solid keeper is pretty decent and all around the back four plus the DM have a good chemistry between them as demonstrated in the derby when Arsenal successfully defended a 1-0 lead for a good part of the game, which sadly was not the case a season or two ago. The addition of Flamini, Sagna as cb jenkinsons development as the sublime quality Gibbs has added this year make our defence far more formidable than it looks. Look at what Arsenal did to napoli`s famous attacking prowess and how city`s millions studded defence was torn apart, how Chelsea were humbled by Basel and more recently in BPL what happened to Manchester clubs is proof enough that our defence is something to reckon with. Your arguments seem to be based upon the tough times arsenal faced in the last seasons first and middle parts but you must not forget the point that arsenal lost two of its main players and 3 new ones were being integrated into the squad while Arsenal still managed to get into top four. This years I hear people clamoring about the lack of a striker, I wouldn't mind another world class signing there but Giroud is as good as they come and is really quite vital to the way we play. God forbid even if we loose him to injury we have a couple of lesser options on the bench but I would rather prefer an out and out striker less option to a solid midfeild where every one is capable of scoring like Oezil Ramsey Wilshare Cazorla Walcot Podolsky etc. So mark my words Mr reality check arsenal are gonna' win a double this year and you are gonna' eat a huge humble pie made of your own useless punditry.

You are so so deluded.... "squad for squad they are massively inferior to many of their rivals" you seem to be a joker and just wanting to write anything you feel like.... You seem to forget those out injured and if they return I bet there won't be a better squad in England.... If you dare, list and compare the top four squads...

Arsenal were the best team in the second half of last season and they have been the best team in this fledgling season also. We also added Ozil and Flamini to the squad without losing any influential players. I will agree that losing either first choice center back or Giroud we would be in some significant trouble but if I had selected certain players to remove from most teams they too would be set back. Your article loses a lot of credibility because you fail to address the fact that the fourth place team from last season, in the worlds most competitive league, who have added the worlds best playmaker, are made out to be some bunch of ragtag over achievers. They might not win a trophy this year but can you honestly say that Chelsea, Man you, or City are significantly better than they were last season?